Member of Parliament for the Odododiodioo Constituency, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has given a first-hand account of the moment anti-tax protesters in Kenya invaded the premises of the National Assembly in the capital, Nairobi.
Vanderpuye was part of a five-member Ghanaian delegation that was visiting the Kenyan lawmaking chamber when the violence led by young Kenyans broke out.
He confirmed that the youth decided to “besiege Parliament and prevent the Senators from going ahead with the second reading of the Bill (Finance Bill).”
The reading went ahead and the Bill was accepted before the protesters arrived in the chamber of the House.
In recounting what he saw, Vanderpuye said it was horrible because the youth were virtually now chasing the police.
“It was horrible to see, it got to a time the police men were running away. The youth virtually overrun the police, broke Parliament house gates, burnt two police vehicles, they were throwing their own cannisters at the police men, the soldiers came in, the soldiers couldn’t stop them,” he said on Accra-based TV3.
Protesters on Tuesday, breached Kenya’s parliament and set portions of the House on fire following the approval of a controversial tax bill by the Senate.
President William Ruto on Wednesday announced his decision to reject the bill and have it sent back to parliament for reconsideration.
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